Bryan Berard #34
Position: Defence
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 190 lbs.
Shoots: Left
Born: March 5, 1977 (Woonsocket,
RI)
Ottawa's 1st pick in the 1995 Entry
Draft (1st Overall).
On January 23, 1996 Berard was traded
to the New York Islanders from Ottawa with Don Beaupre and Martin Straka
for Damian Rhodes and Wade Redden.
He was then traded from the Island
to Toronto for Goalie Felix Potvin last January.
Bryan was a no-show at this summer's training camp along with Dimitri Yushkevich. But he finally agreed to terms with the Leafs when they offered him a 2 year contract. Bryan Berard, the 22 year old defenceman, will be payed 1.5 million the first year and 1.8 million for the second.
Won Calder Trophy (1997)
NHL Rookie Team (1997)
Played 4 games with the U.S.A Olympic
team in Nagano, Japan, 1998.
OHL Honours:
Canadian Major Junior Rookie of
the Year (1995)
Canadian Major Junior Defensemen
of the Year (1996)
Canadian Major Junior First All-Star
Team (1995, 1996)
OHL First All-Star Team (1995,
1996)
www.allwall.com
Source: Hockey Scouting Report
http://espn.go.com/nhl/profiles/profile/1468.html
Scouting Report
1997-98 Season
Second NHL season. Led team defensemen
in scoring for second consecutive season. Tied for second on
team in power-play goals. Third
on team in assists and points. Missed six games with groin injuries. Missed
one game with elbow injury.
The Finesse Game
Berard is a little bit of Brian
Leetch and a little bit of Chris Chelios, and yet he's his own player.
There aren't
many defensemen who go all the time,
like he does. He is a terrific skater, has great offensive instincts, a
very
good shot from the point and he
always manages to get his shot through. He has a lot of confidence in his
abilities. On some nights he is
dominant, but he hasn't achieved the level of consistency of an elite
defenseman. He is only 21, just
about to enter his third professional season. Remember, this kid never
played
in the minors, but stepped right
on to a bad team after junior and won the Calder Trophy. Like Leetch, when
Berard is really on he's in perpetual
motion. He's the first guy up the ice and the first guy back, and that
creates all kinds of excitement,
creates all kinds of pressure on the other team. As long as it's not ultra-risky,
that's the way his game should be
played. Berard's plus-minus indicates that he hasn't quite grasped this
notion of risk. He can win the game
one night in the offensive end and maybe lose it another night in his own
zone. The most important thing about
Berard is that when the game is on the line, he wants the puck. He
wants to make the difference. Berard
carries the puck with confidence and does not panic under pressure.
His shot is low and accurate. He
is also a fine passer. With his combination of skills and intelligence
he can
control the tempo of a game. He
has good vision with the puck and will make the special plays.
The Physical Game
Although not overly physical, Berard
has shown a willingness to use his body to slow people down. He is
also very good using his stick to
poke-check or break up passes, and opponents would be wise not to make
cross-ice passes high in the attacking
zone or he will easily step up and pick them off. He tends to run around
and try to do too much sometimes,
but coaches prefer sins of commission to sins of omission. Berard is a
competitor and he battles.
The Intangibles
Berard brings people into the building
and then brings them out of their seats. Berard has shown every
indication that he will be among
the league's elite offensive defensemen, but needs to add responsible
defensive play.
Bryan's Career Stats
